Those of you who like a good news business story, might have seen in the press that Game4Padel has been valued at £18m after our latest investment round, during which we raised £3m from retail and institutional investors.
Our fourth successful fundraising round in less than three years attracted a mixture of debt and equity capital that will help us accelerate plans to develop a UK-wide network of playing facilities for padel by building up to 300 new courts within the next five years.
One of the key tests for scale-up companies at this stage is judging the right moment to increase spending. We have been very prudent so far, to control cash burn, but have stepped up our expenditure in the last few months – primarily on marketing and staff.
Peter Gordon and Vincent Hivert, two of our co-founders, have been promoted to new roles as Chief Operating Officer and Growth & Participation Director, respectively. James Rose, our new National Development Manager, joins us after eight years as Director of Tennis Coaching at world renowned La Manga Club in Spain. David Taylor, a former investment sector professional, joins the team as a part-time analyst to review potential venues and prepare data on catchment area, financial modelling and venue projections. And Carol Milligan joins as Executive Assistant.
We have also had a number of interesting approaches from potential partners keen to collaborate in multiple countries in Europe and further afield. As encouraging as it is to be gaining recognition abroad, we remain primarily focused on the UK market, where there is more than enough work in the pipeline to keep us busy.
Game4Padel is currently in advanced discussions with more than 50 UK sites, which we anticipate will add more than 50 additional courts to our 24 existing or secured venues within the next year. Watch this space to find out where…